Beaver Valley Section - Swiss Meadows (0.0 km) to Sixth Line (13.7 km) - Sept. 6, 2022.
Beaver Valley Section - Swiss Meadows (0.0 km) to Sixth Line (13.7 km) - Sept. 6, 2022.
Hiking with Friends took a trip northward to Beaver Valley this past week in an attempt to further the quest of some dedicated hikers to complete the Bruce Trail...in its entirety, no gaps...we have seen it done, can we join that illustrious club?
Day One of our first of three, 3 day trips on alternate weeks (if you grasped all that temporal information, good on you) was a 13.7 km warm up hike from Maple Lane in the Swiss Meadows neighborhood of Ravenna, the start of the Beaver Valley Section, to the roadside parking at Sixth Line.
A dramatic birds eye view of the route with the ski slope scarred escarpment in plain view...this route took us 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete and we "stepped up" our game by climbing 310 meters of vertical...a good portion of this hike takes you through the Len Gertler Memorial Loree Forest, named after the man who helped develop the Niagara Escarpment Plan.
Steve R is behind the camera (prior to setting off on two wheels today) so here are the six of us ready to get this show on the road...er, trail...
Sandra (sweep), Arpi (back where she belongs!), Ken, Steve (leader), Lesley, and Muris...
So the weather was amazing...a warm cloudless September morning...we turn early on and the calm waters of Georgian Bay spill out before us...not a bad start...
It isn't long before we reach the top of the Craigleith Ski Club and one the ski lift's upper terminals..of course, we need to explore...
New sport..."hiker skiing"?..
It's soon time to get back at it but our time here has certainly given us a lift..
We traverse the ever dangerous "Farm Road"...
This area has been privatized to a certain degree, as evident from this sign...it turns out the birds had the best view on this trail and my anticipated chance to yell "look out" a few times was thwarted by the ski enterprises' domination of the escarpment...
Accepting our fate, we took to picking apples and meandering through cool, sun-dappled forests...not so bad, is it?..
This was definitely the most "apple-e" walk I have ever experienced, they were everywhere!..
A nice bridge picture always puts me in a good (even better?) mood on a super nice hiking day...a lot of the streams we saw were pretty dry unfortunately...
Our alien instincts (see previous blog) seem to be intact as we are inexplicably drawn down a forbidden path of the Georgian Peaks Club (well, a small sign suggested it was "private") to seek the mother ship...
Time for "pre-abduction" elevensie's...
This is what we have missed!..in addition to her infectious positive spirit, Arpi brings home-made baked goods!..we love her...today she has brought her famous banana bread...mmmmm...
There are some big fields in these parts...
After finding a bit of a view, we cross the 21st Sideroad...
A nice plaque adorns a tree...a reminder of the important role that stewardship plays on the trail...
The walking is very pleasant...it's been a great start to our trip and we are all feeling pretty good...
We pass a beautiful homestead with a classic old windmill...
A short walk along a nicely shaded 18th Sideroad before heading into a small forest, and back out into the sunlit fields...this hike has had a bit of everything...
A final pit stop by a small creek and we are just about there...
Just before we reach Sixth Line, we encounter a large "flowerpot" in the forest...a unique erosional landform that is more commonly found near shorelines...worth a clamber up...
We reach the dropped cars at Sixth Line, and our the first of our three hikes this trip is done!..Steve R, fresh from his bike ride, has returned to help get us back to our lodgings...it has been a great start to the trip and we are looking forward to our next adventure...see you then!
The End
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